


If you refuse, you're not much of a Gryffindor

by Shadow_Wolfe99



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dare, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28400631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Wolfe99/pseuds/Shadow_Wolfe99
Summary: Sirius Black likes to make everyone think he's a cassanova. He flirts with everyone. A couple of days before the full, Remus has enough of hearing him flaunt about it."If you're so good, come get me.""Is that a challenge, Moony?"Remus also dares Lily to accept James's next advance. Unfortunately for her, he's not as much of a prat as she wants to believe.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

## Remus

All he wanted to do was read. He wanted to read in peace but Sirius had come upstairs. He was going on, again, about how Susan from Ravenclaw had fallen in love with him but he was too good for her. She was nice enough but he just wasn't into her. Sirius never explained why none of them were any good. He just kept rambling. Eventually, Remus put his book down. The wolf inside was too close to the surface for him to keep his irritation in check. What he wasn't anticipating, was just how good Sirius looked with his tie hanging loose around his neck and the candles throwing shadows on his face, making him look even more chiseled than usual. He bit the inside of his cheek. He was never going to let Sirius know about how he felt. It was pointless and he wasn't about to be another of his cast-aside flings.

The wolf apparently had other ideas.

Remus stood up and stepped into Sirius's path. 

"You go on and on about how you got Kim, Bob and Lexie from every other house to fall for you, yet they're never any good," he snapped.

Sirius took an unconscious step back that Remus followed.

"You flaunt it in front of all of us that you're so hot, and charming and droolworthy, yet you never do anything with it."

Another step backwards. They were almost flush against the wall.

"I think, you just like the attention. I also think that they're all very easy targets to your pretty."

Sirius's back was pressed against the wall. Remus planted his hands against the brick and leaned in close.

"If you're so good, come get me."

The dog smirked, though his eyes glinted with something. "Is that a challenge, Moony?"

"You bet your arse it is."

Without another word, he pushed away from the wall and marched out of the dorm. It wasn't until he was halfway down the stairs that he realized what he'd done. His face blushed and he headed straight to the library. He needed to talk to Lily.

* * *

## Sirius

Sirius stared at the closed door and tried to get his heart to settle again. Remus had been so close, so intoxicatingly near him, that he'd almost kissed him. The power the werewolf had exuded was heady and he'd barely managed to say a word. He couldn't help but wonder why Remus had given him the dare. Was he really just tired of Sirius bragging all the time? Could he want Sirius? It had long since been established that Sirius flirted with everyone, regardless of their gender, but had only dated (briefly) a handful of people. Two girls, a guy and an enby. They had all been short lived and Sirius hadn't actually had any interest in them. He'd done it because he could and because it was a distraction from who he really wanted. To fall for one of your best friends was kind of cliche and just... any fallout would just be awkward. Plus, Remus had never dated anyone and was incredibly private about anything intimate. Sirius didn't even know if he liked dudes.

He didn't know how long he was stood against the wall, but eventually James came into the room, still in quidditch attire. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you good?" he asked.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah... I'm fine."

It was a bare faced lie and James knew it. The athlete stared at him for a couple seconds before shrugging and heading into the bathroom. The shower turned on moments later. Sirius shook his head. He needed to get a grip. He sat down on his bed. If Remus was serious about his challenge, then he had a lot to think about. Everyone else didn't matter when it came to flirting. It was why he was so good at it. The result didn't matter. Moony was different.

* * *

## Lily

Remus appeared beside her and grabbed her by the arm. She asked Marlene to look after her stuff and she walked out of the library with Remus, who looked very red and mildly deranged. They walked out into the mild autumn evening and sat down on a bench. Remus's hands were shaking. 

"I... Lily..." He mumbled, almost incoherently.

"Remus, you're a big boy. You have words. Use them," she said firmly.

He looked at her. "I dared Sirius to ask me out."

Her eyes widened and she couldn't control her expression. She covered her mouth as laughter threatened to escape.

"Remus, you're acting like that's a problem. You've wanted him for ages."

He shook his head. "It's... I got pissed off that he was going on about some ravenclaw and I don't know what happened. I just kind of snapped. I said none of the others were a challenge, explaining why he got them so easily. I told him he should get me. As if I'm not a fucking challenge. Lily what the hell have I done?"

The laughter escaped and she had to look away from him. He was being just as melodramatic as the other two were. 

"You're not being very supportive," Remus grumbled, the sulk obvious in his voice. 

She choked back the laugh and looked him dead in the eye. "Remus, you like Sirius. You've liked him for a long while now."

"Yes, and he is just going to add me to his ever growing pile of rejected flirtations."

The realization hit her and she bit her bottom lip. "Oh... why the hell would you challenge him? The four of you marauders, especially Black and Potter, don't back down from anything. Why would you do that?"

Remus shook his head. "I don't know. It just sort of happened. Lily I'm a fucking idiot."

"Yeah, you are."

He scowled at her. "You know what, you're being very unsupportive tonight. I dare you to accept James's next request."

Lily recoiled, her cheeks flooding with heat. "I..."

"If you refuse, you're not much of a Gryffindor."

* * *

## Remus

He left the dorm room earlier than the other three, desperate to avoid any awkward conversations with Sirius. He regretted challenging him but knew there was no way of taking it back. It would lead to questions Remus didn't want to answer. He sat down in the great hall and restlessly started to eat his toast. He hoped he could eat and escape before the others arrived. He would have skipped breakfast but being only a day from the full moon, he had to eat. Lily, Marlene and Dorcas arrived before the other marauders and Lily raised a knowing eyebrow at him.

"Hey Lupin, Lils tells us that you gave her a dare last night," Marlene said. "She said you brought house pride into it. That's low, mate. Really bloody below the belt."

Remus smiled sheepishly. "She was about to refuse it. Couldn't have her being a coward now could we?"

Lily glared at him as she ate a spoonful of cereal. He laughed, despite his mood, and shrugged. He was halfway done with his breakfast when the other marauders showed up. James sat beside him while Peter and Sirius sat across. Remus actively found his plate fascinating to avoid looking at Sirius. 

"Hey Evans," James said cheerfully. 

"Hello Potter," Lily replied, her voice only mildly tenser than usual. 

Remus glanced up at her and she was studiously not looking in his direction. 

"The Hogsmeade trip is this weekend. You wanna come with me?"

She opened her mouth, likely to refuse, before catching Remus's eye. She looked at him and, through gritted teeth, said,

"Sure. Meet you by the entrance hall at eleven am. Don't be late."

She then got up quickly and left, her bowl still half-full. James dropped the toast he was holding, staring after her with his jaw hung open. Remus laughed. He could only imagine how shellshocked James was after the years of rejection.

* * *

## Sirius

James had broken. Lily accepting his proposal had broken him. Remus elbowed him in the ribs.

"Mate, you might want to close your trap before the flies move in," he said with a smirk.

James got the hint and picked his toast back up, eating it with his eyes still on the doors that Lily had walked out of. Sirius returned his gaze to Remus, who was definitely avoiding looking in his direction. Did he regret challenging him? Sirius hoped not. He wanted Remus to want him. 

"Did she really just... I'm not fucking dreaming am I?" James asked.

Sirius kicked him under the table and he flinched, then started to beam. His reality had finally sunk in. Sirius smiled to, if only to hide his anxiety. He refused to notice any of the people staring at him, veying for his attention. None of them were important anymore. Remus got up, patted James on the shoulder then started to leave. Despite having eaten nothing, Sirius got up to follow.

They walked together in silence for several minutes before Sirius stepped in front of him.

"Come to Hogsmeade with me?" he asked.

Remus stopped and snorted, one eyebrow raised. "Really? You think it's that easy?"

Sirius shrugged. "Worth a shot. Straight line is usually the fastest path and all that. Why'd you challenge me?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "To shut you up. It's infuriating to hear about your conquests day in, day out. Maybe if you're busy, you'll stop."

"Are you even into dudes?"

He flushed and looked away, typical of any conversation that ended in intimacy or sexuality. Sirius said nothing and waited. He wasn't going to bother with the challenge if the answer was no. Remus finally looked at him and nodded once. Sirius felt a wave of relief that he quickly crushed. Being into dudes and being into him were not necessarily the same thing. 

"Remus, why-"

"Look, it's probably just the full moon. The wolf doesn't have a lot of patience. I have to go to the toilet. I'll see you in potions."

* * *

## Lily

She stood by her desk and tried to ignore the irriation within her. She'd accepted the dare from Remus, knowing that it wouldn't be long until James asked her out. She had not expected it to be the day after. Sirius, by his lonesome, rushed into the room and stopped in front of her. He looked confused.

"Tell me honestly, does Remus like me?"

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Why do you think I've got any idea who Remus does or doesn't like? He's a prude. I'm sure you've noticed."

He rolled his eyes. "I know he talks to you about this kind of thing. I'm sure he came straight to you after he dared me to get him last night."

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "Even if I did know anything about that, why the hell do you think I would tell you? You're bloody cassanova. You can get anyone."

Sirius shook his head. "I can get people that mean nothing. Remus doesn't mean nothing. Not to me."

She stared at the pureblood, who dropped his gaze to the floor, and noticed for the first time how utterly unsure of himself he was. She sighed.

"Do you really think he would challenge you to something like that if there was nothing on his side of things?"

Sirius looked up at her. He was somehow terrified and hopeful all in the same breath. She rolled her eyes. Why were guys so clueless at reading one another? They were supposed to be visual creatures. The room started to fill with students and Sirius walked over to his usual table. Remus stood beside her.

She smirked at him. She was tempted to tell him that he wouldn't be one of Sirius's rejects, but then she remembered that she would be going to Hogsmeade with Potter and thought better of it. He deserved to stew for a bit. It was petty, but she didn't care. He looked at her with a frown.

"Why do you look like you've done something?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh please. I share a room with the marauders. I know when people are up to something. You're not exactly trying to hide it either."

She laughed then turned toward the blackboard as Slughorn started to teach.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, an interlude if you will. Really not got any writing mojo

## Remus

The next morning, he wanted to die. His body felt trapped beneath a million boulders while having the energy of someone on drugs. He was restless but only wanted to sleep. James and Peter left him in bed as was usual (they usually came back at lunch and dragged him to the hospital wing) but Sirius stayed behind. He insisted that he wasn't needed in divination anyway, and laid down on his bed, throwing what looked like a rememberall up and down.

"You should go," Remus groaned. "I'm not exactly great company."

"Nah, you look like you could do with the companionship. Besides, I really just want an excuse not to see Trelawney. Woman is a nightmare."

"If this is about the bloody challenge-"

"Remus, I'm not an idiot. You look like death warmed up and when the moon rises, you're going to turn into a wolf. Today is not about a stupid challenge."

Sirius rolled onto his side and looked at him. He was concerned and lacking his usual cockiness. Remus buried his face into the pillow. He didn't want to be alone with Sirius. Not when he felt so shit. He wanted... he wanted Sirius to hold him until he fell asleep. It was ridiculous. Sirius didn't do sappy romance or soft gestures. He was cassanova. Everything with him was hard edges and deadly points. 

"Re, just go to sleep," Sirius said quietly. "I won't disturb you. At least not until I drag you to Madam Pomfrey."

He tried to sleep. He really did.

* * *

## Sirius

Remus looked like hell. This moon was worse than usual. He looked almost febrile. As he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, he began to shiver and Sirius's suspicion was proven correct. In silence, he padded into the bathroom, grabbed a flannel and made it damp. He tried to ignore the urge to hold his friend, to stroke his hair and assure him that he would be okay. It was too much. He couldn't do that without it being weird. Instead, Sirius resigned himself to sitting beside him and placing the flannel on his forehead, hoping to cool him down. Sirius knew there were spells that could cool you down but he wasn't brilliant at them and he wasn't about to make Remus worse.

The werewolf stirred from the partial sleep he'd been in.

"Pads, go away," he grumbled. "I'm fine."

"No, you have a fever. Stop being stubborn for five seconds or I will drag you to the hospital wing early. You haven't looked this bad in a long time."

Remus made vague noises of protest before closing his eyes again. Sirius forced himself to behave. He was not going to stroke Remus's hair. The door opened and James walked in quietly. He had a plate with dry toast on it for Remus and a chicken sandwich for Sirius. James looked at their friend and frowned, his mother hen self shining through.

"Should we take him to Pomfrey early?"

Sirius shook his head. "He hates being in there. Besides, it's not like she can cure his lycanthropy."

James nodded reluctantly before grabbing a book from his bed and heading out. Sirius stayed by Remus's side and wished there was more he could do for him.

* * *

## Lily

Since discovering Remus's secret, she'd grown to hate the full moon yet couldn't help but notice the days it fell on. They were days she wrote down notes more in depth than her usual and duplicated them. They were for Remus. She knew how much he hated being taken out of his studies for something he'd never asked for and had no control of. She was also a lot quicker to snap if anyone badmouthed him. She nipped any rumours in the bud and placated people with the same story the marauders gave. 

_H_ _e has bad genetics from his muggle side. It makes him sick more often than most people._

She had gotten very used to spreading the story that it no longer felt like a lie. To be fair, it wasn't that much of a stretch in the truth. James sat down beside her in arithmancy and she did her best to ignore him. She wasn't sure if she should tell him about the dare. It wasn't entirely fair on him to think she had actually relented to his constant pestering, but it also seemed like telling him defeated the purpose of a dare.

"How are you this fine morning, Evans?" he asked, cheerfully.

"I'm fine," she replied, "How's Remus?"

"It's worse than usual. Sirius is staying with him until we take him down to Pomfrey. Seems like it's a fever this time."

"Sirius is staying with him?"

"Yeah. Tosser wanted an excuse not to go to divination. Honestly though, I probably would have stayed with him too. So would you. Remus looks bloody awful."

Lily shuddered involuntarily. Poor Remus. She could only imagine what he was going through.

* * *

## Remus

Waking up in the hospital wing was worse than the day before. His muscles were sore, his throat burned and he could feel the gouge the wolf had taken at his thigh. His head throbbed too.

"You really aught to be more careful, Mr Black," Madam Pomfrey said, her voice a little way away. "Flying is not something you can take lightly and certainly not something to partake when one is lacking concentration. Sit still!"

"I know," Sirius replied. "I'll be more careful next time."

Remus opened his eyes. On the next bed along, Sirius was sat on the bed with his arm in a sling. His stomach twisted. Had he caused that? Sirius caught his eye and, when Madam Pomfrey disappeared into her office, he hopped off his bed and walked over.

"Did I-" Remus couldn't get the words out. His throat hurt too much.

Sirius shook his head. "Nah. I flew into the stands while practicing with James. Crash landed into the seats. Broke my arm."

Remus stared. He was being lied to and they both knew it. He'd broken Sirius's arm. He was a monster. Sirius shook his head and with a serious face said,

"No. Don't start spiraling. You weren't trying to hurt me. You were trying to hurt yourself. I got in the way. The wolf apologized and laid with me the rest of the night. Just rest and don't worry about me. It'll be healed up by tomorrow."

* * *

## Sirius

He went to transfiguation and Lily stared at his arm. He avoided her and went straight over to James, who looked knackered.

"Did she buy it?" he asked, in a barely registering mumble.

"Yeah. I've had years of acting the part behind me, remember?" Sirius replied. "Had to tell Remus what happened though. He did not buy the flying story."

"Probably cause he's seen you on a broom. He was awake?"

"Barely. Went back to sleep before I was discharged."

James nodded and rested his head on his arms. Sirius was glad for the Pepper-Up potion he'd been given. He was also glad that it was Lily's turn to take notes because it was his broken (slowly mending) arm that he used to write with. McGonagall looked at him with an eyebrow raised before begining. He spaced out within a few minutes. They were covering a spell he'd learnt third year for a prank. When asked to transfigure the desk into a rocking horse, Sirius smirked at where James was still sleeping and perfectly performed. James fell forward and crashed into the red-and-gold rocking horse, falling to the ground afterward. He glared up at Sirius before sitting back in his seat. McGonagall stood in front of them.

"While I commend your transfiguration ability, Mr Black, the aim was not to cause injury to a fellow student," she said.

He smiled up at her. "Professor, it's James's fault. He shouldn't have been asleep."

Her lips twitched upwards before returning to the stern expression. "Nevertheless, two points from Gryffindor for poor sportsmanship."

He also knew he'd gained twelve for producing such a beautiful toy. It was a shame he had to turn it back.

* * *

## Lily

She cornered Black the second he was out of the classroom. He stared at her, turning so that his injured arm was out of her reach. She rolled her eyes. As if she would cause him more pain.

"How's Remus?" she asked.

"He's as well as can be expected," Sirius replied, looking mildly concerned.

He knew what he next question was going to be.

"How did you do that?"

He shrugged with one shoulder and spouted of some bullshit story about falling into the quidditch stands. 

"I will work out one of these days how you manage to stay with Remus all night without him killing you," she whispered.

He shrugged again and pulled his arrogant, cassanova smile. "I'm sure you will, Lily. You're a nosy witch."

He walked away, but she saw the mild concern on his face before he did. She walked to her next lesson in worried silence. However the marauders managed to stay with Remus during the full moon clearly wasn't risk free, even if they didn't get killed doing it. It wasn't that she particularly cared about them getting injured, it was their choice, but if Remus managed to cause irreparable damage to any of them, he'd never forgive himself. She was joined by Marlene and they started discussing something trivial. Lily was only just paying attention.


	3. Chapter 3

## Remus

He was discharged late in the evening with strict instructions to go to bed. He was not about to argue. Walking back to the tower was brutal, his ankle ached and his hip did not want to cooperate. In theory, he could have waited for one of the others to show up but he refused to seem weak. He was about to start on the stairs when Snape and Mulciber rounded the corner. Remus instantly reached for his wand only to remember it was still in the dorm. He'd forgotten to grab it before being dragged to the hospital wing. 

"Oh look, it's Loony Lupin. Where's your friends at, freak?" Mulciber crowed. 

He was not in the mood for this. "Go shove your head down the toilet! Might make you look better."

Both their wands aimed at him. He didn't know what they had planned but he wasn't in a position to defend himself.

"I dare you, Snape!" Lily hissed, appearing behind the slytherins with her wand aimed at them. "Try it and you'll find out why I'm the best at duelling."

The two slytherins exchanged a look before walking away in the direction they'd come from. Remus exhaled a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Lily walked over and hugged him gently. 

"I was coming to find you," she said. "Sirius and James were both worried."

"They're always worried around my time of the month. Can we go? I'm fucking tired."

She wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked, very slowly, up the stairs.

* * *

## Sirius

Peter had goaded him into playing gobstones, despite his best efforts not to, and was overly aware of everyone else in the common room. He was waiting for Remus. In theory, he could have gone to see him in the hospital wing but he knew how the werewolf would react to the reminder of what Moony had done. The portait hole opened and both Remus and Lily walked in. He looked exhausted. Neither of them stopped to speak to anyone, instead heading straight up to the dorm. It wasn't a surprise. 

"You're not even paying attention," Peter complained.

"You're the one who wanted me to play," Sirius replied. "I did tell you I wasn't in the mood."

"I'll play with you, Pete," James said, dragging himself away from the herbology homework he was doing.

Sirius got up, moving aside for James to sit down, and contemplated heading upstairs. He knew Remus wouldn't be in the mood to talk, but he didn't want to leave the werewolf alone. He also wanted to spend time with him regardless. Lily returned and looked directly at him. She glanced at the stairs before heading towards the girls dorms. He took the subtle hint and headed up to bed.

Remus was tucked into bed, lying on one side staring at the window. He wasn't asleep but he didn't look with it either.

"Hey, Remus," Sirius said softly. "How you feeling?"

"Tired. Hurts too much to sleep," Remus replied, his voice rough. "How's your arm?"

"It'll be fine. Pain potion helps. It's not your fault."

"Utter bollocks and you know it. The three of you really shouldn't take the risk."

"It was my fault for jumping into Moony's way. I refused to let you hurt yourself. You've got enough to deal with."

Remus turned, propping his head on the pillow to look at him. Beneath the tired, he looked angry and scared. Despite knowing better, Sirius crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed. Remus looked away, knowing he'd let his guard slip. Hesitantly, Sirius took Remus's hand in his and gently squeezed it.

"I'm not going to abandon you, Remus. No matter how badly behaved Moony is. You're too important to just let go."

Neither of them spoke for several minutes and Remus continued to avoid looking at him. Sirius started to suspect that he was crossing some sort of line when Remus squeezed his hand back.

"Stay until I fall asleep?" Remus asked so quietly it was almost impossible to hear.

"Of course."

* * *

## Lily

She stared up at the ceiling in her dorm and tried to ignore the racing thoughts. Remus looked awful. He hadn't looked quite so bad in months. It wasn't a surprise that Sirius was so worried. She couldn't help but wonder how upset Remus was at himself for causing his friends injury. Especially Sirius. She wanted to know why the three of them risked the injuries. After about ten minutes of staring, her curiosity got the better of her. She got up and headed back to the common room, hoping that the marauders hadn't gone to bed yet.

James was the only one left. He was sat at the table, scawling something on parchment with a herbology book open in front of him. Reluctantly, she sat across from him. He didn't even look up.

"Why do you take the risk?" she asked quietly.

James looked up, a little startled and half asleep. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"With Remus. Why take the risk?"

He frowned at her, trying to process the words with very little sleep. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "I mean, you run the risk of not coming out alive or with serious injuries. Why do it? I know it bothers Remus when any of you get hurt."

"He's worse off without us. Does far more damage to himself. Sirius stopped him last night. It's usually him that gets in the way. Moony doesn't want to hurt any of us. Can I get back to this now? I'd usually jump at the chance to talk but Remus needs to hand this essay in tomorrow. It's already overdue."

She stared at him but said nothing. He returned his gaze back to the parchment and began to write again. A strange confusion washed over her. James was always cavalier about his own schoolwork, barely handing in work on time. Yet for Remus, he was forcing himself to do it despite being exhausted and with her distracting him. A knot formed in her stomach and she quickly returned to the dorm. He was an arrogant toerag. He pulled pranks and had childish feuds with slytherins purely because of house rivalry. He was a stupid jock. She glared at the ceiling. She did not like James Potter.

* * *

## Remus

He woke up before everyone else. Sirius had his face buried in the pillow as per usual, but he appeared not to have changed out of the clothes he was wearing the day before. Remus slowly rolled to his feet and headed into the bathroom to get ready. When he came back out, he silently pulled his chocolate stash out from under the bed and carefully placed a chocolate frog on Sirius's pillow. He then headed down to the common room. Lily was curled up on one of the armchairs looking sort of pitiful.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She looked at him and forced a smile onto her face. "I should be asking you that."

"Yeah but I asked first."

"I'm fine, Remus. Just... thinking too much."

He raised an eyebrow. Lily was not one to avoid topics. She was a very straightforward person. It was almost amusing. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Did Sirius look after you last night?"

He scowled. Of course she was going to push the ball back into his court with a topic he didn't want to cover in a public place, regardless of it being too early for anyone to be in the common room. He sat down on the sofa and she laughed at him.

"If I talk, will you?" He asked quietly, glancing at the stairs. He did not want Sirius to walk in on this conversation.

"Yes, but only if you agree not to be a tosser about it."

They had thoroughly discussed Lily's confusion around James and Sirius's gentle behaviour the night before by the time they'd headed down to breakfast. They had both agreed that it was probably best to just let things happen the way they were going to. Let the chips fall where they may, so to speak. Remus wasn't entirely sure if Sirius's behaviour would be replicated again. He was likely just feeling guilty about getting himself injured and the difficulty of the moon. 

Remus was halfway through a bowl of cereal when the other marauders made their appearance, the three of them looking a little worse for wear. It was the part he hated about the days following full moons. His friends were all still in catchup mode and suffered for it. Sirius flopped down on the bench beside him and haphazardly started buttering a piece of toast. 

"Here's your herbology essay," James said with a yawn, holding out a piece of parchment. "Used your notes. Sprout is expecting it before lunch."

He took the parchment and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Prongs. Did you do your own homework?"

The animagus grinned, though his eyes betrayed his tiredness. "Nah but it'll get done eventually. Alright Evans?"

* * *

## Sirius

The chocolate frog was in his robe pocket. He knew it was from Remus, but he didn't quite know what it was for. Was it an apology for breaking his arm? Was it a thank you for staying with him the night before? Was it something else entirely? His brain wasn't rested enough to make sense of it and the thoughts kept popping up only to vanish into oblivion. He wanted to ask but it seemed... rude? Instead, he focused on getting enough food to hopefully keep him going. At least until lunchtime when he could have a nap.

"I have an idea for a prank," Peter said, seeming far too perky.

"When did you have it in mind?" Remus asked quietly.

"Today. Snape's getting too big for his boots again."

Sirius groaned internally, his want for chaos and the need to sleep warring with each other. He didn't refuse to participate though. That wouldn't have been very gryffindor of him. He listened intently to Peter's explanation and James's subtle edit of it, as was usual when Wormy came up with ideas. They all agreed and despite their weariness, grinned like idiots. Lily scowled at the four of them, knowing that something was up but not wanting to get stuck in the middle of it. She'd been dragged into detentions multiple times by butting her nose in.

The dungbombs went off, filling the dungeon hallway with smoke. Sirius and Remus placed the barrier charms up before taking off around the corner. They screeched to a halt upon seeing Mrs Norris and darted into a secret passage that took them into the bathrooms. They didn't stop until they were at the other end of the stinkified corridor wherein they bolted into a broom cupboard. They needed to stay close by to keep the barrier charms up. 

Sirius quickly started to lose his concentration in the wandlit tight space. He was so close to Remus, who's cheeks were flushed from the running, and he couldn't help but stare. For several moments, Remus seemed fixated on the door, listening to the rage of many slytherins including Snape, but then he looked at Sirius. The air charged with tension immediately and Sirius couldn't help but panic slightly. It was too close to the full moon. The challenge wasn't on.

"Pads, you need to stop looking at me like that," Remus said.

"Like what?" he croaked.

Remus smirked. "Like you're into me. It's highly frustrating."

"Why would I stop if it's real?" The words came out of his mouth without permission.

Remus looked momentarily shocked before taking a step closer and leaning one hand on the wall beside his head. Sirius thought his heart might leap out of his chest. He was definitely awake now. His eyes flickered between Remus's eyes and his lips. Words apparently vanished from his vocabulary.

"Am I going to have to be the one to start this?" the werewolf asked, almost sounding smug.

Sirius could only nod. Remus closed the gap and pressed their lips together. It was heaven. He felt alive. It was magical. With his ininjured arm, he reached up and wrapped a hand around the back of Remus's neck, pulling him closer. He had kissed so many other people but none of it had felt like this. He never wanted to stop. The werewolf stepped back, breathing heavily. Without pausing, he then bolted from the cupboard, leaving Sirius with so much confusion.

* * *

## Lily

She had barely left the great hall when Remus grabbed her by the arm and directed her outside. He looked terrified. When they were in a secluded spot, she forced them to stop and he started pacing in a tiny circle.

"Remus, I'm going to require context here," she said blandly.

"Prank. Hid in a cupboard. With Sirius," he replied, clearly having to force the words. 

She covered her mouth to stop herself from talking. She didn't want to assume anything. Refused to be that person. She also knew Remus and how deep his feelings went.

"I don't know what happens to me. It's just... I don't know. With him. It's just. Fuck!" He continued, his pacing never faltering. 

Lily sighed. "You know, I have yet to master legilimency. I don't actually know what you're going on about and my brain is hopping to, probably the wrong conclusion."

Remus stopped and looked her in the eye. "We were hiding in the cupboard. He was staring at me with this look and then... Lily, I snogged him. _I_ snogged him. I... bloody hell I'm such an idiot."

She shook her head. "Alright, I wasn't going to tell you because I was being petty. Sirius likes you too dumb arse. You're not just another one to him. He told me himself. Relax already or you'll give yourself a heart attack."

Remus looked dumbfounded. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. How could guys be so stupid sometimes? Visual creatures. What a load of bull. With the crisis seemingly averted, she turned to head back into the castle. Remus grabbed her arm.

"He... Sirius told you himself how he feels?"

"Remus, he wanted to know how you felt about him. I didn't say anything specific but hinted that it was reciprocal. What you do from there is your choice and his," Lily said with another eyeroll. "Besides. At least you're not into an arrogant toerag."

Remus smirked. "Debatable, but I'll take your word for it."

* * *


End file.
